Microsoft System Center 2012 Revealed

Microsoft's System Center 2012, which we discussed in Microsoft's System Center 2012: Building A Private Cloud, is the latest attempt by a big vendor to bring private cloud to the masses. While there are many improvements to System Center, building a private cloud using anyone's software is far from easy. At Microsoft's private cloud reviewers' workshop, we got a peek at the sausage factory. There are a lot of components to configure, but Microsoft has done a good job of streamlining many of the

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In the lab, the hardware wasn't actually available, so it failed. However, you can drill into the task and see exactly which step failed and which steps remain. In our case, PXE boot failed, so we couldn't talk to the server. Note that VMM used BMC to power on the host.

Mike Fratto is a principal analyst at Current Analysis, covering the Enterprise Networking and Data Center Technology markets. Prior to that, Mike was with UBM Tech for 15 years, and served as editor of Network Computing. He was also lead analyst for InformationWeek Analytics ... View Full Bio

Respondents are on a roll: 53% brought their private clouds from concept to production in less than one year, and 60% ­extend their clouds across multiple datacenters. But expertise is scarce, with 51% saying acquiring skilled employees is a roadblock.

Most -- 77% -- of respondents to our 2014 Private Cloud Survey, all from companies with 50 or more employees, have clouds in place now or are piloting. Those without plans may be left at a disadvantage.